Mortimer's Card Room
Right on a very busy street that acts as one of the main business streets in the small town of Marina. Mortimer's is a restaurant, bar, and casino. Games Limit hold 'em: 6/12 with a full kill. In the evenings sometimes they will have 10/20, and sometimes in the afternoons they will have 3/6 with a kill. 6/12 limit is the main game here, though, and is always running; they generally maintain a must move list to keep the main table full. It is also populated with a number of skilled players, including many regulars. Occasional calling stations, occasional maniacs, but mostly just medium-good players. No-limit hold 'em: 5/10 blinds 100-500 buyin. It's squishy soft. Couple good players, but 8 way pots aren't rare. Runs about half the day (starting in afternoon, until late late night). Minimum $30 pot to trigger the kill. Killer acts last in the preflop betting round. Preflop chopping of the blinds is allowed. This is a small card club that serves the higher rollers along this stretch of the coast. Offers the highest limit games around, unless you want to drive 50 miles to San Jose. Lower-limit players play across the street at the Marina Club. Wait Time: A small number of tables (only 2 or 3 of which are usually in use), leads to occasional long wait times. Rake: $3 for 7-9 players, $2 for 5-6 players, $1 for 2-4 players. No flop, no drop. Rake is taken from the pot after the flop. Posting: New players must post to enter a game, or wait to take the big blind in turn. Shuffling: Two tables have Shufflemaster shuffling machines. Tournaments * Sunday 4pm, NLHE, 50+10, 1x40 rb, 1x40 ao * Monday 7pm, NLHE, 100+20, unlimited $100 rebuys Jackpots and Promotions None. Atmosphere In the past few years, Mortimer's has gotten cleaner and brighter in an attempt to attract more regulars. The poker room is small but professional-looking; low ceilings, reasonably bright fluorescent lighting throughout the room, a few fans to keep things cool on the hotter summer days, and some fairly worn out carpet. The walls have now been decorated with "old time memorabilia", including pictures of Mortimer's at its founding in 1938. You can get the old-timey picture on a T-shirt from the cashier's cage, if you like. There's one big TV on the wall and free coffee and water available on one side, as well. They have a waiting area near the door with a couple chairs and a table full of poker magazines (that's a nice touch, since you will often have to wait 5-20 minutes for a seat). There's a lone 21st Century Blackjack table along one wall that looks like it is never used, and instead often has people sitting and eating at it, while they wait for a seat at a game. The poker room is connected directly to the bar through a door, so you can just walk through and order up whatever drink you'd like. The bathrooms are in the bar (none in the poker room), and look like only moderately well-maintained bar bathrooms (you can see where they've replaced the tile a number of times over the years). Neighborhood: Sort of a "hangout/dive" area on a busy corner just south of downtown Marina. Doesn't look particularly attractive, but it's also not exactly "run down" or antyhing. Parking: There's parking on the side of the building and behind it, too. Not a lot of spaces (20-25 or so), but seemed OK, if not easy to navigate. Tables and Chairs: Standard 9-player tables, standard fixed-leg chairs. Nothing special, but very serviceable. The felt is worn, but with a clean commit line. Smoking: No smoking allowed in the building under California law. However, smokers walk immediately outside the "back door" and puff away. That makes it convenient for smokers, but not so much for people who are nearby. If you're a nonsmoker, don't sit near the back door or walk in and out through it. Service and Comps No service or comps that I could see, though there are roll-up drink tables for you to set your drink or bar food on, if you go get it from the connected bar. Links and Notes * Nearest competitor is literally across the (not busy) side street: Marina Club. Nearest large room is probably the Garden City Casino in San Jose. * Visited by MarkT in Feb 2006 and Nov 2007.